No joking around

Al Franken made an observation rather than make a joke.

The new Democratic senator from Minnesota -- and former Saturday Night Live comedian -- told Sonia Sotomayor that he, like her, was a fan of the old Perry Mason TV show. Then he added: "It amazes me that you wanted to become a prosecutor based on the show, because in Perry Mason the prosecutor on that show lost every week" except for one episode, he said. "That says something about your determination to defy the odds."

Franken said both he and Sotomayor watched the show with their families, she in the South Bronx and he in his suburban hometown, "and here we are today." He added: "I think that's pretty cool."

-Larry Margasak, AP reporter, Congress